Guang Su Bing or Kong Soh Peng （光酥饼）

I was super excited when I saw Kenneth's blog on this old-time biscuit called "Guang Su Bing or Kong Soh Peng" （光酥饼) and was inspired to try out his recipe and another I've found on the internet.

This is a biscuit that I remember always having in my childhood days. I remember my mom and dad will buy a pack home whenever we make a trip to Chinatown. This biscuit is white, round, soft, fluffy and has a powdery coat of flour on it. Even though we call it a biscuit, it's texture is hardly crispy. In fact, I would say its texture is cake-like. As it has a coat of flour on it, I remember I would always end up white-lipped after eating this snack. 

Eating this snack always bring back fond memories of the good old days...That's why I am so eager to try this recipe out so that my hubby and I can reminisce the good old days while having this for our tea-break/snack. (Gosh! I sound like we are 七老八十! Lol!)

I made the biscuits using 2 recipes and I have documented them with my modifications below. My biscuits have cracks and not so much flour on the surface, probably because I was using gloves while shaping the dough and hence didn't need to apply as much flour to prevent the stickiness from the dough.

Both recipes are good but my family prefer the 2nd recipe as they like it not too milky and without the condensed milk. My girl named this 'Cake Biscuit' and has been asking me to make more of it. :)

First Recipe
Guang Su Bing or Kong Soh Peng （光酥饼）
recipe adapted from Guai Shu Shu
(my notes and modification in red)
makes 6

Ingredients:
100g self raising flour (I used 50g plain flour, 50g hong kong flour, 1 tsp baking powder, 1/4 tsp baking soda)
50g castor sugar (I used 40g confectioners' sugar)
50g milk powder
45g fresh milk
10g condensed milk
20g cooking oil (I used canola oil)

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 160C.

2. Sift the dry ingredients (flour and milk powder, confectioners' sugar and baking powder) in a mixing bowl. Stir until well mixed. Make a well and set aside.

3. In a separate bowl, mix all the wet ingredients (milk, condensed milk and oil).

4. Pour the wet ingredients into the sifted flour mixture. Use a spoon to stir till well combined.

5. With some flour in your hand, lightly 'knead' the dough until it forms a pliable dough. All handling should be light to avoid formation of gluten like the handling of Western short crust pastry. (I wore a glove so that the kneading and handling is not so messy)

6. Divide the dough into 6 portions. Shape each portion into a ball. Then press and shape it like a disc. If it is too sticky, flour your hands before shaping.

7. Place baking tray at the lowest rack of the oven to avoid over-browning and bake at 160C for 12-15 minutes. (I baked mine for 11 minutes)

 

Second Recipe
Guang Su Bing or Kong Soh Peng （光酥饼）
recipe translated and adapted from yescate 尚食康
(my notes and modification in red)
makes 6

Ingredients:
100g bread flour
50g cake flour
3g baking powder (1 tsp)
1g baking soda (1/4 tsp)
70g sugar (I used 60g confectioners' sugar)
55g fresh milk
15g beaten egg
20g cooking oil (I used canola oil)

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 160C.

2. Sift the dry ingredients (bread flour, cake flour, baking powder, baking soda and confectioners' sugar) in a mixing bowl. Stir until well mixed. Make a well n the middle.

3. Add in egg and milk and stir well using a spoon till well combined. 

4. Cover with cling wrap and let it rest for 30 minutes.

5. With some flour in your hand, divide and shape the dough into balls and then press to shape it like a disc. (Add more flour to your hands if it's too sticky before shaping. For me, I wore a glove so that the handling and shaping is not so messy and I did not need to flour my hands so much. Do note that all handling should be light to avoid formation of gluten like the handling of Western short crust pastry.)

6. Bake in preheated oven at 160C for 15 mintues. (I placed my baking tray at the lowest rack of the oven to avoid over-browning and bake for 11 minutes.)

Thanks for dropping by. Do link back to LY's Kitchen Ventures if you have used any information published in this blog.